If you haven’t already played Ico, an oldie but goodie for the PS2, I highly recommend you go out (and by go out I mean browse on over to amazon.com) this minute and pick up a copy. The total play time is rather short by some standards, about 10 hours or so, but those 10 hours are filled with wonderful puzzles, stunning vistas, and great game play.
First and foremost, Ico is a puzzle game classified under “Action Adventure” according to gamespot.com; big on the adventure, not so big on the action. As someone who plays Silent Hill with the fighting settings on low and the puzzle settings on high, I thought the ratio of action to adventure worked well and allowed me to concentrate on the puzzles. I found that when the baddies did show up the timing and placement of their arrival actually enhanced the game and puzzle, which goes to further emphasize that everything about this game is well thought out and implemented. There is nothing extraneous or gratuitous about Ico.
As the title indicates, you play a young boy named Ico who is on his way to being sacrificed because he happens to have horns growing from his head. The villagers take him to a remote castle island and lock him inside a tomb to meet his fate. A sizeable earthquake reveals that his fate is different from those who came before him, as his tomb tumbles from the shelf and he finds himself free in a vast, empty castle. A bit of exploration reveals Yorda, a young, silent and mysterious girl trapped in a cage whom he immediately frees. The interaction between Yorda and Ico is intrinsic to the environmental puzzles that permeate the game. While Yorda is mobile there is little she can seemingly do on her own, nor can she be left alone for long before she will be attacked by enemies. Ico must drag her around, coax her up and down ladders, catch her when her jumps fall a bit too short of the gap, and protect her from those that wish to attack her. This can be annoying at times, but overall the interactions between Yorda and Ico, her relience on him, and the animations for both nuture an emotional link and investment in the game.
An added bonus, which I’m not sure is present in the U.S. release, is a two player feature that can be unlocked after completing Ico for the first time. After the credits roll and you wake up on a beach, you must find Yorda and then save the game. This will allow one player to take control of Yorda the second time through the game. New weapons are also available the second time around.
Five stars, two thumbs up, and full marks on whatever other ranking system you’d like to invoke. Ico is masterfully done in both artwork and game play, and is an experience I think everyone should have as part of their cultural lexicon. Yes, I like it that much.
ico is one of my favourite games EVER. but i believe the US release is missing the two-player option :(